Interview with Georgia Dive: Māmā to Mila, and founder of Bright, an online platform that takes the stress out of finding a carer for your tamariki
Georgia Dive is a māmā and business owner, who is passionate about supporting whānau with childcare that is an extension of your own family. We spoke to Georgia about Bright, a childcare platform that connects parents with carers, and takes the stress out of finding someone to genuinely care for your children.
Kia Ora Georgia,
Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your family and your mahi?
I am a mother to Mila, a wife to Alex and lover of yoga and the outdoors. I grew up in the small town of Raglan. We always had a strong community that was supportive, empowering and diverse – it really shaped who I am as a person today. I wanted to create the same community for families and carers, which is where the foundations of Bright were formed. Bright was started pre-children and is slowly evolving now that I have a child of my own. Having a village is one of the most important things for families, we were never designed to raise a child between one or two people. But overtime, we have lost our village and our community, which is why a community like ours is so important. Having the right person care for your child in a way that is both tailored and supportive is crucial.
Can you tell us a bit about Bright, and what inspired you to start the business?
Bright is an empowering, supportive and all-encompassing childcare provider that really looks after their people. We are passionate about education, wellbeing, and growth. We allow parents to get in touch to arrange a childcarer to come into their family home to care for their child/ren for one-off and ongoing arrangements. I was the childcarer myself and the need for quality and reliable childcarers became apparent after my friends and I set up this little informal babysitting ‘club’. I was training to become a primary school teacher but took a gap year to go traveling. During my travels, I landed myself a job as an au-pair through a babysitting contact I had in Mount Maunganui and became inspired to set up a business when I returned home. I did this while completing my last year of my university degree and while being a nanny and one-time childcarer myself.
How does the Bright platform work?
For parents:
- Sign up
- List a booking
- Have carers presented to them
- Select their carer
- Payment is automatically taken post booking
- Review their carer
- Repeat
For carers:
- Sign up
- Get approved by Bright and then inducted
- Apply for jobs that match their experience
- Get confirmed for bookings (parent chooses)
- Submit hours
- Get paid
- Repeat
Do your Carers do ‘one off’s for a date night or special occasions?
They sure do! At Bright, we love that we can assist parents in celebrating magical moments in their life and to have freedom in their every day life. Our carers at Bright are experienced, flexible and happy to meet the needs of every family. We also ensure our carers can get themselves to and from jobs so that it isn’t the responsibility of the family. We make the process as simple as possible so that parents don’t have to worry about anything but themselves (for once). At Bright, we understand how important it is to build a village around our families.
What sorts of things should parents look for, when they are wanting to find a Carer?
To be honest with you, this is what we are here for. At Bright, we go through a thorough vetting process to ensure our carers are of world class standard before they apply for any listing a family makes with us. We hire our carers based on their passion, experience and attitude for and towards children. As a parent, there are so many things we need to think about. At Bright, we are experts when it comes to selecting and vetting quality carers, so we take those stresses away from our families.
Why should parents book with Bright?
- We are passionate about quality care
- We take the stress and worry away from care
- We have an incredible pool of carers so back-up care is available for unforeseen circumstances
- We are thorough with our vetting processes
- We have an incredible platform that saves parents time (no more messaging around, no more ‘hoping the sitter arrives’).
How much should a family expect to pay for a one-off carer?
It really depends on the ages of the children and the requirements of the role but put it this way, you get what you pay for. When it comes to your child/ren, they are irreplaceable, they are your biggest treasure in life. Please do not try and cut corners – make quality, trustworthy and reliable care your priority. You would expect to pay around $28+ per hour for a quality carer. You wouldn’t leave your teenager in charge of your most expensive asset (house or car) without thinking twice, so why do it with your child?
As a māmā yourself, you’ll understand the worry that comes with leaving your children with someone else. What would you tell another parent, who might be feeling anxious about booking a carer?
As a māmā, the worry will never end. That is why you need to surround yourself with the right people, to make your job easier. If you are feeling anxious, we would recommend booking your carer in 30 – 60 minutes before you are ready to leave so that you can spend some time with the carer before going out. Write a list of your expectations, routines and the things that are really important to you and go over them with the carer before you leave. Every family operates differently and the carer will want to know what is expected of them so they can support your family as best as they can. Just know, your children will always go to you naturally, so don’t expect your carer to take over entirely while you are home – this is will naturally happen once you leave. The best thing about using a service like Bright is the fact we have done all of the vetting for the families, so this naturally relieves some of that worry.
